research-men-get-more-actionable-feedback-than-women

brookeburton·Feb 15·7 replies

Thought this new research is really interesting - it explores a dataset of open-ended written feedback for 146 mid-level career leaders provided by their peers/managers. Study found that there are four key differences in how advice was framed for female leaders vs. male leaders: Vision: - men encouraged to "set the vision"- women encouraged to "focus on delivery"Political Skills: - men encouraged to "leverage politics" - women encouraged to "cope with politics" Asserting Leadership: - men encouraged to "claim their space" - women encouraged to "get along" Confidence: - men encouraged to "display more confidence" - women encouraged to "be more confident"Have you noticed a difference in how your feedback is framed vs. your male peers? Would love to hear thoughts!

AngieYang·Feb 15·1 reply

Also interesting that this study was led by female researchers!!

brookeburton·Feb 15

yes true!

JenYi·Feb 16

Thank you so much for sharing!

SamanthaB·Feb 16·1 reply

It is very interesting and yes, unfortunately, I have had first-hand experience of this. The "get along" one is particularly interesting and typical of what's thought of us female folk by a number of senior men that is when we speak up and out.

brookeburton·Feb 16

Yep I totally agree. I've also been told that I need to "get along" better with others - when I felt like I was just trying to engage in healthy debate (and this feedback actually came from other women)

LoganCharles·Feb 17·1 reply

I think the difference between 'be more' and 'display more' [X characteristic] is super interesting. 'Display' assumes you already possess this characteristic; 'be' assumes you need to change something about yourself. Feedback I've gotten in the past included 'be more assertive' and I think had someone said 'display more assertiveness' it would have seemed more attainable. Like, I don't need to change who I am, I just need to display a certain element of my personality more in this position.

brookeburton·Feb 17

so true! so subtle, but the meaning is much different